 Bluffers guide to Politics
Government - is formed by the Political Party with the most Members of Parliament. They won the last General Election and make most of the political decisions in the country. The Opposition - The opposition is the Political Party who has the second most Members of Parliament. They put across different ideas when the Government suggests things and argue with them. The current opposition is the Conservative Party. If they win the next election the Leader of the Opposition Michael Howard will be the Prime Minister. http://michaelhowardmp.com
Electoral Register - Electoral Register is a list of the names of all the people who can vote. You get on it by filling out a form each year. Constituency - A constituency is a geographical area, which is represented by a Member of Parliament who gets voted in by the people who live there. This country is divided up into 650 constituencies. Your constituency is Bath. Member of Parliament (MP) - When you vote in a General Election you will be helping to decide on (elect) a Member of Parliament to represent your constituency. Your Member of Parliament is Don Foster. www.donfoster.co.uk
Prime Minister - The Prime Minister is a Member of Parliament who is also the leader of the winning Political Party. He or she lives at 10 Downing Street. Our Prime Minister at the moment is Tony Blair. www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page4.asp
House of Commons - This is where Members of Parliament make decisions about the running of the country. They discuss different issues (Bills) and try to decide which ones to make law. After they have discussed a Bill it is passed to the Lords. House of Lords - This is the other house of Parliament. Members of the Lords are not voted in, but suggest changes to Bills coming from the House of Commons. Parliament - Parliament is made up of the House of Lords and House of Commons. It is the Houses of Parliament in Westminster ( London) that has Big Ben. Political Party - This is a group with shared ideas about the running of the country, which tries to get elected into Government. Political Parties include the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. Party Manifesto - This is like a book of the ideas and beliefs of a Political Party. It is like an advertisement for the party at the time of election. "Vote for us and this is what we will do for the country if elected". General Election - A general election is when citizens vote for Members of Parliament to represent their Parliamentary Constituency. The Political Party with the most Members of Parliament forms the Government. |